High Score - A McRoll in the REAL World Story
by Mari217
Summary: Steve & Catherine have been a winning pair for a very long time.
_Sammy and Ilna, since Sammy started it, a quote: Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one."
– C.S. Lewis_

 _And Sammy, special thanks again for being awesome squared and covering last Monday while I was at the Magic Kingdom and for another title. And to Ilna for reading this when you were so tired and busy! xo_

 _REALMcRollers you are the best of the best! Nonna hugs to all!_

* * *

 _ **High Score**_

Catherine's phone dinged a text as she and Steve were reclining on the sofa sharing a pint of ice cream.

She lifted it and snorted a laugh as she scrolled and read, _This is a legit ad from the 50s - figured I'd make your newly married head explode, 'cause WTF?! How sad and wrong is this?_

 _Eww, so wrong,_ she texted back.

"Carrie?" Steve smirked at her expression and scraped the carton to offer her the last spoonful of Cherries Jubilee.

Catherine nodded as she wrapped her fingers around his on the spoon he held to her mouth. A tiny grin appeared when Steve's eyes darkened and his tongue darted across his lower lip as she swallowed the ice cream and slowly licked the spoon before putting it aside.

"Carrie found this ad from the 50s." She showed him the image of an advertisement touting, _Train Your Wife in 5 Easy Lessons!_

Steve shook his head. "That's for real?"

"That's an actual ad. Apparently a free booklet from the Committee for a Better America could have showed you how to teach me to …" She grimaced and read out loud as she settled against him on the sofa, "Fetch your slippers and pipe; serve you beer and snacks; sit quietly while you browse the TV stations and - oh, here're the _extra_ special ones," her nose wrinkled, "respond to nonverbal cues like finger snapping and answer 'yes, dear' to any and all questions."

"That's …" Steve's eyebrows knitted, "seriously screwed up."

"I _guarantee_ Gram and Grandma Kathleen never, ever acted like that and I'd take bets Nonna didn't either."

"Easy bet. You come from a line of independent women." His look of pride in her made Catherine kiss him gently.

When she glanced at her phone again, Catherine laughed. "I'm gonna kill her."

"What?"

"Because I opened that I already got a link for an article called _What Makes a Great Marriage?_

"From 1950?"

"No, it's recent." Catherine opened it and scanned the page while he bent to read it over her shoulder. "Wait, here," she said, reaching for her tablet on the coffee table. "Let's see how it says we're doing," she teased. "Since we've been married a whole sixteen days." She tapped in the URL so they could share the larger viewing area.

"We've been _together_ a whole," he pulled her closer and kissed her temple, "seventeen years. Read on, Rollins, we got this."

Steve leaned back and settled her against his side as she began to read.

Catherine turned and pecked his lips. Steve's eyes lighting because he framed it as a challenge made her grin as much as his confidence warmed her heart. With a squeeze to his fingers, she began to read, her smile growing as she did.

" _The quality of a relationship is a function of the extent to which it is built on a solid underlying friendship and meets the needs of the two people involved."_

"See? We got this." Steve nodded and kissed her, and Catherine patted his chest.

"One down," she continued when he pulled back with a smirk.

" _Intimacy is very important because it is when we let someone else enter our private world."_ They shared a smile. "No issues there.

 _Remember that only seven percent of communication is verbal. Actions and non-verbal communication speak much louder than words."_

Steve blinked at the words on the screen before his eyes locked on Catherine's.

"Exactly what I've always known." Her voice was soft as she held his gaze for a moment before touching his cheek and moving on.

" _The best predictor of future behavior is relevant past behavior. Can you trust your spouse?"_

For them, trust was not only personal, but a matter of life and death in the field, and Catherine laced their fingers. "With my life. Always."

"Right back at you." He raised their hands and kissed her fingers, rubbing his thumb over her rings with a smile.

" _Your wedding is a day; a marriage is a lifetime. Coming to know and love each other as time goes on is a gift. Treasure it and you will have a marriage that lasts forever."_

Catherine leaned forward to put the tablet on the table as she said with a soft smile, "You're right. We got this."

"We have a twenty year head start." Steve's smile was huge. "Remember that game with the test?"

She chuckled. "In that bar the week of Carrie and John's wedding? That was a _quiz_ , Steve."

He shrugged. "Whatever. We won."

Catherine shook her head. "It wasn't a conte …" She stopped and laughed at his look. "What?"

"We absolutely won, Catherine. We got more right than anyone."

* * *

 _ **Flashback**_

 _Wade's girlfriend Nicole selected a card from the pile on the hightop bar table and smiled at Catherine. "Your turn, maid of honor." The card was from the game,_ What Do You Know? _She pointed to Steve asked, "What's his grandfather's name?" and passed the card to Catherine._

 _Catherine smiled. "For the win, Ensign Steven McGarrett. Steve's named after him."_

" _Damn, high score again?" Wade shook his head. "Jesus, Rollins, you only get to see each other on leave, how the hell do you know his grandfather's name_ and _rank?"_

 _She shrugged and leaned closer to Steve, who's hand gently squeezed her shoulder as they shared a look. "I asked."_

* * *

 **Present day**

"And you remembered." Steve kissed her temple.

"Of course. Just like you remembered Salty's name." Her fingers tightened gently on his thigh. Turning in his arms, she saw his grin and shook her head at his expression.

"And…?" His eyes glinted.

She rolled her eyes and kissed him. "Okay."

"Okay." He nodded. "Exactly. We won, Catherine." His grin morphed into a smile.

"We definitely won, Commander." Lifting their raised hands and bringing them to her lips, she caught his eyes. "We definitely won."

.

 _# End. Thanks for reading_

* * *

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